RandBall: Best market for a sports fan in America? Minneapolis-St. Paul, of course

Blog Post by: Michael Rand

October 31, 2013 - 2:16 PM

The Twins have lost 96-plus games each of the last three seasons. The Vikings are descending back into the toilet. The Wild still can't score goals. The Wolves are a work in progress. Gophers football and basketball offer us no sure things. We have the Lynx and Gophers hockey (men's and women's) ...

And apparently all of that adds up to a sports fan's paradise.

Per Men's Fitness, Minneapolis-St. Paul is the VERY BEST market for sports fans in #America.

Instead of limiting our search to championship titles and playoff berths, we went all the way, looking at the number of sports bars and sporting goods stores per capita, sports radio stations, stadiums in the vicinity, attendance at games, and even how popular the jerseys are. The results are in, and we have a winner. No, it's not Boston, New York, or Chicago that stands out in our rankings. It's Minneapolis, MN. Or maybe just plain Minnesota. Now, before you flip out, or flip us off (hey, we were as surprised as you are), let's get into why. Minneapolis—along with its twin city, St. Paul—has solid MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL teams, but here's the kicker: It had more than three million in stadium attendance between those four teams last year. That's more pro game attendance per capita than any other city in the United States. In other words, going to the games is pretty much mandatory. Then there are the 353 sporting goods stores, two ESPN radio stations, and 20 sports bars per 100,000 people.